The invention is based on a method and on an apparatus for regulating the idling charge of an internal combustion engine as defined hereinafter. An apparatus for regulating the idling charge in V engines having separate air intake lines has already been proposed, in which an idling charge regulator that is driven by its own control motor is disposed in a bypass line around a throttle valve disposed in each air intake line. Besides requiring two control motors, this arrangement presents difficulties in regulating the idling charge because of the different characteristic curves of these two idling charge regulators.